In Praise of flashes of Sports Brilliance
Some athletes burst upon the scene like a meteor but they disappear just as soon like a falling star. However, their impact would be felt for decades later. Some of their records become incomprehensible to understand considering the era they played in. They are still held in awe by those that saw them play. Finally there is the lingering what if controversy as to how they would have done if their career had achieved its full lifespan.
Number 4 Bobby Orr what more is there to say? The famous quote by Serge Savard pretty well sums it up, “there are stars, then there are superstars, then there is Bobby Orr.” Bobby Orr is only in 11th place all-time for most points by a defenceman. Chris Chelios who is in 10th place has 33 more points than Orr. Chelios has almost played 1,000 more games than Orr. Bobby Orr only played 9 full seasons in the NHL. Before Bobby Orr there was only one defenceman that had scored 20 goals in a season. Orr was the first to score more than 40 goals and the first NHLer to get more than 100 assists in a season.
Besides the records and there are many, it was Orr’s playing style that wowed the hockey world. Watching Orr play it seemed he was skating in 2020 and the rest of the league was still in 1948. In his last full season he had his best goal scoring season with 46 goals. Yes Paul Coffey broke the record but Bobby Orr played his last full season on one leg.
Bobby Orr had oodles of charisma because of his modesty at what he was achieving. He was also as fierce a competitor as he was talented. Orr should still have been in the league when Wayne Gretzky joined the NHL. Beliveau was still there when Orr joined the league and Gordie Howe was still playing after Orr retired. Orr played his last full season in the NHL when he was 27. After that age he played a grand total of 36 NHL games. The most Bobby Orr ever earned was $600,000 per season.
The tragic knee surgeries Orr endured would probably not have ended his career with today’s modern surgical procedures. Phil Esposito, before he joined the bruins and Orr, never came close to scoring 50 goals in a season and he never came close after he was traded by the bruins.
The legend of Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Jim Brown is in 11th place all-time for most yards rushing in a career. Tony Dorsett who is in 10th place has 400 more yards rushing. Dorsett played 55 more games. Jim Brown would have needed 8 yards per game if he played those extra 55 games to surpass Dorsett. Brown averaged close to 5.2 yards per carry. He averaged 100 yards per game during his whole career the only rusher to ever do so. Jim Brown played 9 NFL seasons.
Jim Brown retired before he was thirty bragging he had nothing else to prove and he was right. He did have a contract dispute but he never did come back. The most Jim Brown ever earned during a season was $60,000. He retired in his prime and uninjured and never hurt during a football game. Watching highlights of his career you have to wonder if he was on some performance enhancing drug, even though none existed at the time.
He was a power runner and a fleet runner and an off balance runner and you may have me cornered but that does not mean I am gonna be stopped runner. Every time you thought the play was over he just continued churning his legs and did a Houdini like escape. Jim Brown was also an excellent lacrosse player. Jim Brown has always been his own man actually supporting Ali after he was stripped of the title and meeting Trump with Kanye West.
In nine seasons he accomplished so much, it took twenty years to surpass his career rushing record. He is still in fifth place for career rushing touchdowns. Few dispute Jim Brown is the greatest rusher of all time. After his career he broke racial barriers becoming an accomplished Hollywood actor and leading man.
Sandy Koufax was forced to retire at 30. His chronic arthritis was forcing him to pitch in pain. Even though Koufax was in the majors for 12 years, he started pitching full time for only 9 seasons.
Sandy Koufax dominated pitching like no other before him. He was the first to win 3 Cy Young awards when it was awarded to the best pitcher in both leagues. He was the three time triple crown winner for most strikeouts, most wins, and best ERA in a season. He pitched 11 shutouts one season and only Bob Gibson has pitched more. He struck out 382 batters one season and only Nolan Ryan at 383 has struck out more in the modern era. He was on 4 world series winners and was world series MVP twice.
The highest salary Sandy Koufax ever earned after holding out was $125,000 per season. He was of the Jewish faith and since Yom Kippur was in October there was an issue whether he would start a World Series game on the Jewish holy day.
In his last season he was 27-9 and had an ERA of 1.73. He had three seasons where his ERA was under 2. He also had 307 strikeouts in his final season. He had three seasons where he had over 300 strike-outs.
In his final seasons Koufax was forced to take many pain killers like codeine for the chronic arthritis he felt in his pitching arm. He could not endure the suffering any longer and retired at 30. He was the youngest player to make it to the Hall of Fame at 36.
Three great athletes that came and went at such a young age breaking records that few thought possible at the time.
Number 4 Bobby Orr what more is there to say? The famous quote by Serge Savard pretty well sums it up, “there are stars, then there are superstars, then there is Bobby Orr.” Bobby Orr is only in 11th place all-time for most points by a defenceman. Chris Chelios who is in 10th place has 33 more points than Orr. Chelios has almost played 1,000 more games than Orr. Bobby Orr only played 9 full seasons in the NHL. Before Bobby Orr there was only one defenceman that had scored 20 goals in a season. Orr was the first to score more than 40 goals and the first NHLer to get more than 100 assists in a season.
Besides the records and there are many, it was Orr’s playing style that wowed the hockey world. Watching Orr play it seemed he was skating in 2020 and the rest of the league was still in 1948. In his last full season he had his best goal scoring season with 46 goals. Yes Paul Coffey broke the record but Bobby Orr played his last full season on one leg.
Bobby Orr had oodles of charisma because of his modesty at what he was achieving. He was also as fierce a competitor as he was talented. Orr should still have been in the league when Wayne Gretzky joined the NHL. Beliveau was still there when Orr joined the league and Gordie Howe was still playing after Orr retired. Orr played his last full season in the NHL when he was 27. After that age he played a grand total of 36 NHL games. The most Bobby Orr ever earned was $600,000 per season.
The tragic knee surgeries Orr endured would probably not have ended his career with today’s modern surgical procedures. Phil Esposito, before he joined the bruins and Orr, never came close to scoring 50 goals in a season and he never came close after he was traded by the bruins.
Bobby Orr was in his prime in 1972 and had just won the Stanley Cup but was unable to play against the USSR because of knee surgery. It would have been a revelation to see him play against the likes of Kharlamov and Yakushev. In 1976 Orr was the MVP of the Canada Cup tournament where he basically played on less than one leg. We will never know how he would have played if he had as long a career as Gretzky or Howe or Raymond Bourque. Many consider Orr the greatest defenceman of all-time.
The legend of Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns. Jim Brown is in 11th place all-time for most yards rushing in a career. Tony Dorsett who is in 10th place has 400 more yards rushing. Dorsett played 55 more games. Jim Brown would have needed 8 yards per game if he played those extra 55 games to surpass Dorsett. Brown averaged close to 5.2 yards per carry. He averaged 100 yards per game during his whole career the only rusher to ever do so. Jim Brown played 9 NFL seasons.
Jim Brown retired before he was thirty bragging he had nothing else to prove and he was right. He did have a contract dispute but he never did come back. The most Jim Brown ever earned during a season was $60,000. He retired in his prime and uninjured and never hurt during a football game. Watching highlights of his career you have to wonder if he was on some performance enhancing drug, even though none existed at the time.
He was a power runner and a fleet runner and an off balance runner and you may have me cornered but that does not mean I am gonna be stopped runner. Every time you thought the play was over he just continued churning his legs and did a Houdini like escape. Jim Brown was also an excellent lacrosse player. Jim Brown has always been his own man actually supporting Ali after he was stripped of the title and meeting Trump with Kanye West.
In nine seasons he accomplished so much, it took twenty years to surpass his career rushing record. He is still in fifth place for career rushing touchdowns. Few dispute Jim Brown is the greatest rusher of all time. After his career he broke racial barriers becoming an accomplished Hollywood actor and leading man.
Sandy Koufax was forced to retire at 30. His chronic arthritis was forcing him to pitch in pain. Even though Koufax was in the majors for 12 years, he started pitching full time for only 9 seasons.
Sandy Koufax dominated pitching like no other before him. He was the first to win 3 Cy Young awards when it was awarded to the best pitcher in both leagues. He was the three time triple crown winner for most strikeouts, most wins, and best ERA in a season. He pitched 11 shutouts one season and only Bob Gibson has pitched more. He struck out 382 batters one season and only Nolan Ryan at 383 has struck out more in the modern era. He was on 4 world series winners and was world series MVP twice.
The highest salary Sandy Koufax ever earned after holding out was $125,000 per season. He was of the Jewish faith and since Yom Kippur was in October there was an issue whether he would start a World Series game on the Jewish holy day.
In his last season he was 27-9 and had an ERA of 1.73. He had three seasons where his ERA was under 2. He also had 307 strikeouts in his final season. He had three seasons where he had over 300 strike-outs.
In his final seasons Koufax was forced to take many pain killers like codeine for the chronic arthritis he felt in his pitching arm. He could not endure the suffering any longer and retired at 30. He was the youngest player to make it to the Hall of Fame at 36.
Three great athletes that came and went at such a young age breaking records that few thought possible at the time.
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